Thursday, 30 July 2015

Walking In Japan

Walking in Japan is unavoidable. Cars and taxis are seldom used in the
large cities, especially for the budget traveler. Most people use
trains. Here is my article about sleeping on trains in Japan and how to use trains as a source of free accommodation.You will be walking from shops to trains stations, up and down
subway levels sometimes 5 stories deep, and around large department
stores. You will be walking a lot, so be prepared physically and
mentally. Plan where you’re going, know how long it will take. Wear
appropriate clothing for hot or cold weather, and wear good walking
shoes. Get good nights sleep and eat well. Bring food and water in a
comfortable backpack. Bring a collapsible umbrella incase it rains. If
you have a GPS device use it when unsure of which direction to go.

Kansai Telecasting Corporation Near Ogimachi Station Osaka Japan

The Best Way to Find Interesting Places In Japan

Walking is the best way to find interesting places, and it’s the
cheapest way to travel through the cities. Walking will give you the
opportunity to discover more, photograph interesting things, meet more
people and learn the area. It will give you the opportunity to learn
where the best restaurants are, the cheapest shops and to orientate
yourself with the layout of the cities. When to walk and when not to
walk comes down to good planning of your schedule. I would often walk to
save money and at the same time I would get many of the rewards listed
above.

Tenjinbashi Shoutengai Osaka Japan

How To Save Money On Trains In Japan

When travelling by train I would often get off two or three stations
before my destination. It may save 200 or 300 yen. Some train lines run
in the same direction parallel to each other about a mile or two apart.
Walking over to the other line can be a time and money saving way to
switch train lines, as you don’t need to ride the train to where the
lines link back up and then ride the train line back down in the
opposite direction to reach your destination. So learn your train lines,
the prices to each destination and how much you will save if you get
off a station or two earlier.

Do you ever walk to save money on trains?

Tenjinbashi Shoutengai Meat Shop Osaka Japan

Use GPS to Prevent Getting Lost

Soon after arriving in Japan I was at a friends house in the suburbs of
east Osaka. The entire suburb was filled with narrow laneways that cars
had no access to. I was given directions on how to return to the train
station. I set out an hour before the last train for the night. I
quickly lost my direction everything looked the same, and soon became
completely lost. I walked in circles for over two hours before finding
my friends house again. Thus I missed the last train home that night. If
I had a GPS I would have been fine.

Ogimachi Park Osaka Japan

Walking Around Osaka

I
also often walk my entire route when in the inner city of Osaka if I
have time. The inner city of Osaka from Umeda in the north to Namba in
the south is only 4.2km, which can be covered on foot in about one hour.
From Nanba, through to Shinsaibashi and then up to Tenjinbashi Roku
Chome in the north is the longest Shotengai (undercover shopping
laneway) in Japan. It stretches for miles and is full of many
interesting people and shops. Here is more information about Tenjinbashi
on the official Osaka tourist website: http://www.osaka-info.jp/en/ofc/201101/http://www.osaka-info.jp/en/ofc/201101/.

Kansai Telecasting Corporation Near Ogimachi Station Osaka Japan

Tenjinbashi Shoutengai Osaka Japan

Tenjinbashi Shoutengai Ten 4 Osaka Japan

Tenjinbashi Shoutengai Ten 3 Osaka Japan

Okawa River Near Tenjinbashi Shoutengai Osaka Japan

Tenjinbashi Shoutengai Small Door Osaka Japan

Tenjinbashi Shoutengai Ten 3 Osaka Japan

Tenjinbashi Shoutengai Temple Osaka Japan

Tenjinbashi Shoutengai Ten 1 Osaka Japan

Tenjinbashi Shoutengai Ten 6 Osaka Japan

Shop till you drop on the longest shopping arcade in Japan

Tenjinbashi Shoutengai Walking Route

The most common shops found in a Japanese shotengai

supermarkets and grocery stores

restaurants and cafes

izakaya snack bars

pachinko parlors

massage parlors

barber shops

game centers

post offices

book shops

clothing stores

convenience stores

neighborhood police substations

To summarize, don’t walk when you need to save time, as your holiday is nodoubt bound to a limited time schedule. However, I recommend you set aside time to walk long distances, I promise you will have a rewarding experience from it.

If you find my articles informative and interesting, please help support my writing career and my family, by donating to my fan funding page on Youtube, or via Pay Pal at stingyscoundreljapan@gmail.com.

Tuesday, 28 July 2015

Tetsujin 28 At Shin Nagata Kobe is a must see free tourist attraction for fans of Japanese Manga. This is a giant robot statue dedicated to a 1960's cartoon
called Tetsujin 28 go. It is 18 meters
tall. Tetsujin 28 was
built in honor of the 15th anniversary of the Great Hanshin
earthquake that destroyed many parts of Kobe on January 17th, 1995.

The Tetsujin 28 statue is in Wakamatsu
Park just 5 minutes walk from Shin-Nagata Station Kobe Hyogo Japan. To get here take the local JR train on the Sanyo Line from Sannomiya Station Kobe to Shin Nagata Station. Exit on the south side of JR Shin Nagata Station and walk west across the intersection, and continue west for 5 minutes until you come to a park.

If you find my articles informative and interesting, please help support my writing career and my family, by donating to my fan funding page on Youtube, or via Pay Pal at stingyscoundreljapan@gmail.com.

Sunday, 26 July 2015

I recently took my daughter to Studio Alice at Harbor Land Kobe to have professional photographs taken for her 3rd birthday. I chose the birthday theme, where she was given a pretty pink dress to wear and a fake birthday cake to take photos with. The other popular themes to choose from are kimono and Disney themes. Having her photo taken at Studio Alice is a great
lasting memory for my family.

I think it was really good value for money as the staff spent up to an hour with us choosing costumes, dressing my child, and doing her hair and make up before the photo shoot. During the photo shoot my daughter wouldn't sit still and it was very difficult for the staff to get a great photo. However they didn't give up. They spent about an hour getting the right shots.

After the photo shoot we were shown all the photos on a computer screen. Again the staff spent an hour helping us choose the best photos and suggesting print sizes. All up they spent about 3 hours with us and I only spent 20,000 yen.

For my 20,000 yen I got a photo CD with all the images on it, 6 photographs in a
printed photo album, two large size photos in a double picture frame,
and two key chain fobs with my daughter's photo printed on to one side. Quite good value for money compared to how much all this would cost in a western country. The service of the staff was also extremely professional and patient.

If you're planning to go here keep in mind very little or no English will be spoken in the store. For more details on Studio Alice locations, and how to go about booking a photo session if you can't speak Japanese, please see my Studio Alice Article On Hub Pages.

Tuesday, 21 July 2015

BookOff started in 1991, the company has had explosive success even after Japan’s economic
bubble burst, even expanding up to 866 stores in Japan.

How do you buy great looking
gifts really cheap?

Many people go to 100-yen stores. However if you give someone a gift from a
100-yen store they will know how much you spent and will be disappointed. Many
great second hand but new looking items can be found very cheap at Book Off.

What does Book Off Sell?

Book Off sells used
clothing, sporting gear, watches, handbags, cameras, camera equipment,
surfboards, video game consoles, video games, manga, CDs, DVDs, cell phones,
tablets, kindles and other portable media players.Book
Off also sells secondhand books, music and comics in Japan.
Book Off shaves
the edges off the pages of books to make them appear newer.
Prices range from 105 yen for magazines and about 800 yen for books. Great
deals if you can find some books that you like. There are also children’s educational books
very cheap. Don’t be afraid to go to Book Off and just read without buying. It
is an accepted behavior in Japan.

How to get a great deal at Book Off

When you shop at
Book Off be careful, as some items are not cheap. Sometimes you can buy the
same item brand new for about the same price. Also some older cameras and
electronics have no warranty. They will tell you this before you purchase. The
secret to getting great deals at Book Off is to go there every day and spend
time looking at all the merchandise in the store. Get a feel for the prices and
compare prices online or at other discount stores before you buy. This way you
will learn how much certain products are worth.

Another reason to
visit every day is to catch any new merchandise that is selling cheap before
some other bargain hunter buys it. Look for designer brands, and check that
they are undamaged. I have found great Louis Vuitton products at a fraction of
the retail prices. I have also found many designer clothes for adults and
children selling for just a few hundred yen per item. Many older Hello Kitty
products can also be found here.

Book Off Branch Stores

The Book Off franchise also has sister branch stores such as Hard Off
(electronics and hardware), Off House (furniture and house
hold goods),
Mode Off (clothes), and Liquor Off.

Book Off is Tax Free For
Tourists

Lately, Book Off
has offered tax-free shopping at six shops in Japan.

The follow stores are tax free:

Book Off Narita AEON Mall StoreBook Off PLUS
Nanba Ebisubashi
Book Off Shibuya Centergai Store
Book Off Shinjuku Station East Gate Store
Book Off Super Bazzar North Tenjin
Book Off Super Bazzar Hiroshima Otemachi

The
tax free offer only includes items over 10,801 yen, not including consumables
such as cell phone SIM cards, office and stationary supplies, and perfume.

You
must show your passport with a valid tourist visa and fill out paper work to
get the tax-free discount. If you live in Japan drag your friends visiting from
overseas down to Book Off and use their passport to get discounts.

If you find my articles informative and interesting, please help support my writing career and my family, by donating to my fan funding page on Youtube, or via Pay Pal at stingyscoundreljapan@gmail.com.

Sunday, 19 July 2015

The purpose of this blog is to give travelers the opportunity to experience Japanese philosophy, society and culture, meet people from all walks of life, in hundreds of locations all over Japan, on a low cost budget! It is not a replacement for mainstream tourist guides such as the Lonely Planet. This travel blog is primarily concerned with stretching your money further, to stay longer, and experience more of this wonderful country. I will even show you a way to get a free ticket to Japan! Click here for ideas to get to Japan for free.

Have you ever been ripped off or found a cheaper way of enjoying your holiday after it was time to go home? When I travelled to Japan in 2003 on a working holiday visa with only $1000 cash and a credit card for emergencies, I had to invent my own ways of saving money and surviving. The mainstream travel guides were of limited use.They contained no planning guides, no help to avoid scams and no ideas on how to travel and live on very little money. Thus I spent unneccessary time and money learning to live cheaply in Kyoto, my first place of residence.

Through my research and on the ground experience, this blog will attempt to summarize the best travel information that may otherwise be found by spending hours scanning various internet sites. Live like the locals where ever you travel and you will succeed.

This blog is for exchange college students, working holiday visa travelers, vagabonds, and anyone wanting a cheap or extended holiday on a budget. I have done it cheap, and I will show you how I did it.

I have also written many articles about living cheap in Japan at my other site on hub pages.

If you find my articles informative and interesting, please help support my writing career and my family, by donating to my fan funding page on Youtube, or via Pay Pal at stingyscoundreljapan@gmail.com.